Japan beat Argentina 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 15-13) - duration 2:08
20-Nov, start time: 19:02, end time: 21:10 - Attendance: 8,600Japan Comes Back Twice to Beat Argentina
Japan fought back from behind twice to defeat wild card Argentina in five sets, winning its open match by 24-26, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 15-13.Leading by 14-13 in the fifth set, Japan had its first strike saved by Argentina's Spajic Alejandro and second blocked before Nobuyoshi Hosokawa hit the winner in the field.Argentina played with most of its young players, leaving captain Hugo Conte on the bench for the whole match.Argentina used its block to build up a six-point lead at 20-14 before Japan clawed back at 21-19, but the host was still not capable to hold off the wild card then.Serving ace Hiroyuki Kai, only 1.93-m, broke Japan away midway into the second set with through shots, winning the set by 25-21.The rivals fought to a 22-22 tie in the third set when Japan lost three points in row to surrender it. In the fourth, Argentina fell apart earlier before it found the out of touch by trailing at 8-16.Tying at 2-2 for the match and on every point from the beginning in the fifth set, Japan broke up the deadlock at 9-7 to produce the victory. End